Aruba, August 20, 2014 - Last week, there certainly was lots of bad news about the global economy. The Eurozone’s latest production and GDP numbers suggest that the lackluster recovery of the past year isn’t just stalling but may be turning into a recession. The Ukraine crisis explains this downbeat turn of events. If it passes, as soon expected, then the region’s weak recovery should resume.

In addition, starting next month, the ECB will inject more funds into the Eurozone’s banking system with its “targeted longer-term refinancing operations” (TLTRO), as discussed last week. (The details of the program were outlined in June 5 and July 3 press releases.)

The drop in Japan’s Q2 real GDP wasn’t a surprise. Much of the stimulus of Abenomics was more than offset by the hike in the sales tax on April 1. There is already chatter that more stimulus will be required. There was a surprise in China’s July report on social financing. It plunged, suggesting a significant slowdown in China’s economy. It’s not convincing. Let’s have a closer look at some of the key indicators in the major overseas economies: